BATON ROUGE -- LSU's defense, a unit that held ninth-ranked Miami to only three total yards and no first downs in the second half of a 40-3 win over the Hurricanes in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, finished the year ranked No. 3 in the nation in three different categories, the NCAA announced on Thursday with the release of the final statistics for the 2005 season.

The Tigers (11-2) ranked No. 3 nationally in total defense, scoring defense and pass efficiency defense, while finishing the year ranked No. 6 in rushing defense and No. 11 in pass defense.

In 13 games, LSU allowed only 14.23 points a contest, a figure that ranked behind only Alabama (10.67) and Virginia Tech (12.9).

In total yards, the Tigers gave up an average of 266.8 yards per game, which also ranked third nationally behind Virginia Tech (247.62) and Alabama (255.08).

LSU's pass efficiency defense posted a 96.26 rating, which ranked first in the SEC and third nationally. Miami, a team that LSU and first-time starter Matt Flynn threw for 196 yards and a pair of touchdowns on in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, ranked first with an 89.48 rating.

In terms of rushing yards allowed, the Tigers held opponents to just 91.5 yards on the ground per game. It marks the third consecutive season LSU's rushing defense has held opponents to less than 100 yards per game.

LSU also ranked among the top five in the nation in net punting with a 38.97 average, which led the SEC and ranked No. 5 nationally. Senior Skyler Green led the Tigers and ranked No. 15 in the nation in punt return average with a 15.5 mark.